Assuming
by Lichan
Summary: An Endless Waltz fic. What happens when Duo is unable to free himself.


Assuming By Lichan  
  
I decided to write this because as I was watching Endless Waltz I noticed that Duo was forced to escape with no aid from anyone else- the fact that he left the colony with Trowa and Sally was just a coincidence. So what would have happened if Duo was unable to free himself? It seems to me that either Trowa and Heero just assumed he could or assumed that he would be fine staying there and they would not need him for the battle to come. I'm going to give an example of why you should never assume anything.  
  
~~~ is a scene change  
  
Warning: OOC, Angst. Slight 1+2+3 later on. A bit of bastardization of Heero and Trowa.  
  
Duo: Why am I not liking this story already? Wufei: Because she plans to torture you, idiot. Duo: (turns to Lichan) You wouldn't do that to helpless little me, would you? (Kawai puppy face) Lichan: Of course I would Du-chan! I torture all my favorite characters. ^_^ All: 0.0 Quatre: YES! Thank you, Allah! She doesn't like me, so she'll leave me alone. Yes! Lichan: Well maybe for this story I can let you off light I guess. Quatre: Light? Lichan: Yep. Now I just have to figure out how damaging light is. (Rubs hands together evily) Quatre: (jumps into Trowa's arms) Save me, Trowa! Lichan: Hey! You aren't together in this fic! Quatre: What you do in your demented little fics is your own issue. I know my Trowa loves me (turns back to Trowa)You'll protect me from her right? Trowa: I would but some of the readers are starting to look at me evily and the fic hasn't even started yet so. Bye." (Drops Quatre and dashes off screen.) Lichan: Well now that I've had my conversation for the day with the imaginary characters (or so my psychologist tells me) On with the fic!  
  
"Why, why in the."  
  
"It's for your own good."  
  
My own good. What a joke. Duo fumed as Trowa pushed him into a cell. He just doesn't want me to get in his way.  
  
After a short play at being asleep for the guards Duo pulled his lock pick set out from the back of his braid and began to work on the manacles on his wrists.  
  
"Let's see Quatre should be arriving shortly...." He cut off when he heard the panel next to the door being accessed. He hurriedly put his lock set away just as the door opened to admit one of his guards and another he had yet to see.  
  
"See Kevin, I told you it's Shinigami himself." His guard told the other guy who kneeled down next to Duo to and pulled him roughly to a sitting position by his hair.  
  
"I'll have to thank you for this later. I've waited a long time to get my hands on this one."  
  
"No problem." The guard smirked as he turned to leave. "Have fun Shinigami."  
  
Duo decidedly did not like the way this situation was going.  
  
"Do you know who I am?" The guy casually asked while watching him closely.  
  
"Nope, can't say that I do."  
  
"I was Trents lover."  
  
Oh crap. This ain't gonna be good. "And that means what to me?" Damn my mouth he thought as his head was slammed into the floor. Spots beginning dancing in front of his eyes.  
  
"It was your fault he ended up the way he did!" the man yelled in his ear angrily.  
  
"He did that to himself," Duo said as stars passed before his eyes. "I tried to warn-." A punch to his gut cut him off.  
  
"I'll just bet you warned him. Warned him that you were going to as good as kill him, that you were going to ruin his life!" Kevin got up and viciously kicked him in the side flipping him over onto his black. The edges of his vision immediately clouded over. His ribs and side were one huge hurt. Yet, he wasn't scared. That is, until he felt his lock pick set and the attached square of plastic explosive he was going to use on the door, slip out from his braid and heard it clatter to the ground. Kevin bent over and scooped it up. Tauntingly waving it in front of his face.  
  
"Well what do we have here? Did you think you were going to escape you little murderer?"  
  
"The thought had crossed my mind." Oh yeah, that's really smart.  
  
"Did it now, I guess I'll just have to fix that." The guy patted him down unlike the other incompetents had done. Needless to say he was a little shocked about what he found in his pockets.  
  
"You brought explosives too!" He howled in rage. "Planning to murder more people!"  
  
Crap, what's he gonna do? Duo thought as he tried to clear his vision enough to see what was going on. He thought he felt himself being shifted when agony tore through him radiating from his right leg. Twisting painfully he managed to get a look at his leg and the slim piece of bone covered in blood protruding from his lower leg. Surprising even himself he did not scream out. Boys don't cry. There was no rule however that said that boys didn't black out. So that's what he did as he heard the guy laugh out.  
  
"I think that might hinder your escape you little demon."  
  
Silence was the mans answer. ~~~  
  
"All Hostages have been accounted for." Sally Po said as she entered the plane taking off her gas mask.  
  
"Then lets get out of here." Trowas monotone responded. Sally went over and strapped herself into the copilots seat.  
  
"Noin should be at the LPT point."  
  
"I'll drop you off then before meeting up with Quatre.  
  
"Heeros already left hasn't he?"  
  
"Yes, he found it quicker to pick up his gundam in space."  
  
"Where's Duo?"  
  
"Still at the colony."  
  
"Will he be meeting up with you then?"  
  
"No, but with three gundams we shouldn't need him."  
  
"You sure?" She asked worried.  
  
"Yes. Coming up at your drop off get ready." ~~~  
  
"Trowa, you almost ready to go?" Quatre turned back to Trowa as he got into his Gundam cockpit.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Then lets go now." Quatre quickly sliced through the hanger door and allowing themselves to be pulled out into space. The both flew off toward Earth's bright glow. ~~~  
  
The guy must have left after I passed out. Duo thought to himself as he lay in the dark alone. There's no way I'm going to be able to escape on my own now. Not unless some miracle occurs. Still I had though that maybe they would... I guess I didn't mean as much to them as I though I did. He painfully managed to sit up slightly enough to see the fragments of bone protruding from his leg before flopping back to the ground with a groan. Leg's busted, at least a couple of my ribs are cracked and with the way my head hurts I probably have a concussion or something'. He had no idea how long he'd been there, but he knew that he needed to be on Earth right now helping the others. Once he got in his gundam he'd be fine. He just needed Heero or Trowa to come back for him. They'll come back right?. They need me for the battle, right? He groaned again as he shifted his leg. "I'm screwed," he told the barren room. ~~~  
  
The battle was in no way going good. There were a little over 250 mobile suits surrounding Marimeas base. That was around 63 suits each for them each to take out. There was no way they could handle that many without killing the opposing pilots. Both of Quatres swords were busted he could only use the rest of it to cut the sight sensors of the MS, he was suffering for it too. He'd smashed his head against the panels when he was hit from behind by a missile and blood now flowed down the side of his face, dripping on his keyboard occasionally, making it emit small sparks.  
  
Trowa had run out of bullets rather quickly. He was down to his backup blade, not to mention one of his smaller monitors had blown and the glass shards had lodged almost all the way through his right hand. Luckily his left was the one manipulating the heavier weight.  
  
Noin was out. A group of MS had ganged up on her and her suit was blasted half apart. She was still alive, hurt but alive. Zechs was running out of energy quickly but was still as of now holding his own.  
  
"We can't handle this by ourselves!" Quatre yelled at Trowa.  
  
"We have no other choice, we can't resort to killing again. Not when we finally have peace."  
  
"We need help!" ~~~  
  
Trowas blade broke as he tried to block a missile blast. He and Quatre began backing up till they were back to back in the center of the remaining suits. Quatres gaze flew to the left as he saw Zech's beam saber finally run out of energy and he was quickly taken down.  
  
"We've lost," Quatre told Trowa on a private channel.  
  
"I know."  
  
"Good bye Trowa."  
  
"Good-"  
  
Beep, beep, beep.  
  
"What's that?"  
  
"It's Heero!" Quatre yelled overjoyed. ~~~ Kevin kneeled next to him enjoying taunting him as much as beating the crap out of him it seemed. He had long since lost the ability to even sit up without passing out by this point. The pain was just too intense, even for him.  
  
"Your friends left without you. They're on earth demon. Even they know you ain't worth keeping around."  
  
They left...No, they wouldn't leave me. Heero...Trowa...they need me...right?  
  
"We lost the hostages!" Duo heard someone yell frantically from outside his cell.  
  
"What!" His torturer yelled running out of the cell to find out what was going on. The door slammed shut and locked behind him. It wasn't too long before he stalked back into the cell, he was enraged violence was flashing across his face.  
  
"You did this didn't you! You're trying to ruin everything! You got them out somehow. I bet you think your going to get out of here too don't you. Well you won't." The man started kicking him randomly. He could feel the booted foot land everywhere it seemed and, this time he did scream as he felt his collar bone snap under the force of the kicks. He tried to shift away form them but that only seemed to anger him more.  
  
"I'll make you pay for what you did. No one's going to save you, you should of died long ago." Duo groaned trying to hide his growing pain and weakness from his obviously deranged captor.  
  
"And people say I talk to much. Shut the hell up already." God I'm a moron. A complete and utter moron. That's it just piss off the deranged soldier. No wonder Heero's always calling me a baka.  
  
The mans thick hands wrapped around his throat cutting off his precious supply of air. The agony from his wounds flared up as he tried struggling weakly to get out of the bruising grasp.  
  
"Holly crap man you gotta come see this!" Someone yelled frantically from outside the still open cell door.  
  
Duo's vision was starting to go dark around the edges. He could see his assailant kneeling over him with a malicious gleam in his eyes as he watched his prisoner flail about. He frantically tried to pull in as much oxygen as he could into his starved lungs. His fingers trying desperately to pull the hands away.  
  
"Good, God! Wing Zero just...!" The voice yelled out again, but Duo could no longer focus on that, pain, betrayal, and a psychotic man were slowly stealing the life from him. His vision was becoming nothing more than blurred shadows the hands abruptly left. He fell back to the ground his hands holding his damaged throat. Air sweet air rushed painfully back into his broken body. The extra bit of pain just enough to allow him to slip into unawareness with a last thought.  
  
They'll come back. They have to come back. ~~~ "Hey Heero," Quatre called out as I stumbled out of the mansions rubble. "You ok?"  
  
"Fine." They turned as Wufei made his way through the crowd over to them.  
  
"You did well, I'm sorry I went against you, but I had to be sure that this peace would last. Whether anything had really changed or not."  
  
"Next time you need to work something out, try talking." Trowa said, as he moved to stand next to me.  
  
"Will do." Wufei glanced around at all of his companions. "What happened to Maxwell? I would of thought he would of been here."  
  
"We left him at the colony," said Trowa while he was wrapping his hand with a torn off piece from his turtleneck.  
  
"That would not have stopped him from coming."  
  
"True," I said. "I wouldn't think escaping would of taken him this much time."  
  
"What do you mean escaping!?" Both Wufei and Quatre asked alarmed.  
  
"I had to capture him to explain why the colony didn't loose its stability and to allow Heero a chance to get away."  
  
"Perhaps we should find out if he's ok."  
  
"Your right Wufei," Quatre said glancing around at the milling crowd. "Come on we can't take the Gundams they're pretty trashed and there's to many people around to move them, we'd end up crushing someone for sure. We'll have to find a shuttle. ~~~ It took them two hours to procure a shuttle and bandage up their various wounds to Sally's satisfaction. Quatre Had the cut on his forehead that needed stitching. Not to mention a mild concussion that needed to be watched. Trowas hand was taken care of, and Heero had various broken bones and deep cuts that she helped him with.  
  
The whole way to the colony she lectured each of them on taking better care of themselves and not rushing into things. Of course, when she learned why Duo was still on the colony. She lectured Heero and Trowa again about friendship and common decency. Wufei she informed would receive his lecture later with considerable volume, seeing as how they had arrived at the colony.  
  
Within a half hour they were inside the troops base that had apparently been abandoned when Heero had destroyed the base on Earth. They did find one of the soldiers still unconscious in the control room where Trowa had knocked them out, on their way to the cells. Plus numerous bodies from Heero and Duo's entrance. Sally called into headquarters for a squad to come pick them up and go over the base.  
  
Even though they knew something must of gone wrong to prevent Duo from escaping on his own, they were still completely unprepared for what they found upon opening his cell.  
  
The sight of Duo laying beaten on the floor was disturbing for them. His hair was coming undone and matted lying around him. One side of his face and his neck were covered in finger shaped bruises. His breathing was slow and labored. A bone from his right lower leg was jutting through the skin. His clothes were ripped and torn darkening with blood that was pooling around him. ~~~ Hours Later the exhausted pilots were in the colonies' hospital waiting room still looking for word of Duo's condition. They jumped to their feet as they saw Sally walking over to them.  
  
"Well," Wufei asked hiding his worry behind a mask tiredness. "How is he?"  
  
"He's in the OR now. They're trying to patch-up the bone in his leg correctly."  
  
"Will he be okay?" Qautre asked worried about his friends well being.  
  
"His injuries were severe. However, he should recover, but it'll take time.  
  
"How much time?" Heero asked.  
  
"Months most likely if not longer for the leg," Sally replied sadly. The boys all showed various signs of shock. "You have to understand. He had one open fracture that became infected, plus showed signs of being further injured after the break. Five cracked ribs, not to mention massive bruising and abrasions covering most of his body. A severe concussion. Damaged eyes from being choked. A broken collar bone and we had to intibate because he was having trouble breathing.  
  
Those type of injuries don't just go away in a few days. His leg alone could need several more operations to completely fix it depending on how bad it is. The infection from that being left untreated for that long in the filthy cell has caused his temperature to raise dangerously high. Some of his ribs didn't just fracture they broke completely, and there is still a chance however slim that he could slip into a coma due to the concussion.  
  
"Can we see him when he gets out of surgery."  
  
"Probably not Heero, when he gets moved from the intensive care unit to a private room you can though."  
  
"How long will that be?"  
  
"Probably soon after he wakes up unless something goes wrong. For now I recommend you go get some sleep. You all look ready to drop at any moment. I'll tell you what the minute he's allowed visitors I'll give you a call." She walked off leaving the still slightly stunned pilots alone.  
  
"Well where are we going to stay?" Quatre asked breaking the silence. Wufei turned to him surprised.  
  
"You don't have a safehouse here?"  
  
"No," Quatre shook his head this colony is still too new for that. We have had little contact here."  
  
"I guess you can stay with me and Catherine."  
  
"Won't she be mad at us for dropping in unannounced like that?" Quatre asked.  
  
Trowa shrugged. "It will have to do." ~~~  
  
"Why did you leave him. You could easily of taken him with you!"  
  
Yep, Catherine was pissed, but not about them showing up unannounced. Trowa had made the mistake of telling her what happened to Duo and was now facing the brunt of her assault.  
  
"To think that you left your own friend behind like some pawn to be used and thrown away! And you!" She rounded on Heero. "Using him as a convenient little distraction so you could get away not even thinking at all about what would happen to him!"  
  
"Calm down for a minute Catherine." Quatre said soothingly. "I'm sure Heero and Trowa didn't mean for Duo to get hurt."  
  
He shrank back in fear, making surrendering gestures as she turned and glared at him. It proved enough though to curb her anger long enough to notice their exhaustion. "Fine, but ALL of you are going to apologize to Duo as soon as he wakes up have I made myself clear!"  
  
"Yes mam," they all shouted military like.  
  
"Good now go to sleep." With that she left the trailer. Relived sighs went through the boys as they half collapsed around the trailer. Within minutes of their heads hitting a pillow they were out like a light. ~~~  
  
Heero looked up as Trowa left the trailer a few hours later. After debating with himself for a minute he also got off his makeshift bed and quietly followed.  
  
Trowa was standing alone in front of the trailer staring out at the open field. The camp was quiet around them the workers having long since turned in for the night.  
  
He glanced back at him as Heero came out of the trailer. "What's up Heero?"  
  
"Why are you out here?"  
  
"Needed to think,"  
  
"..."  
  
"Do you believe this is my fault?" Heero asked flatly. Trowa dismissed the question immediately.  
  
"Duo's my friend too I'm just as responsible as you."  
  
"But, you aren't in love with him." Was the quiet reply.  
  
Trowa blinked stupefied. "I didn't even bother to think about what if Duo couldn't escape. How selfish could I get only thinking of myself."  
  
"One, yes I do and two, that doesn't sound selfish to me. It sounds like you trusted in Duos abilities." Heero thought about that to himself while Trowa thought about what Heero had said. ~~~  
  
Light stabbed into his eyes viciously as he was finally released from the darkness.  
  
"Ugh," he groaned. He tried to pick up his arm to shield his eyes but that made the deadened pains in his shoulder spring to life with a vengeance. His throat also felt as if he'd been breathing fire. It hurt just to move his neck a little.  
  
"Hold on a sec," someone next to him said. He felt them slip a pair of glasses over his eyes. "Ok, you con open them now." Correction sunglasses that doubled over the sides making them almost like goggles. His eyes were still a little sensitive to the light but at least now it didn't feel as if someone was sticking hot pokers into them. "I'll take out that tube now." She said softly drawing his attention to the tube going down his throat. She reached over and untaped the apparatus and deftly removed it. "Do you want some water?"  
  
He nodded and eagerly sipped the cold glass that she supplied him with.  
  
"Better?"  
  
He looked over at Sally and smiled slightly hiding a wince. "Yeah, thanks Sal." His throat did feel better if his voice was still scratchy. but that still didn't make his neck feel any better when he moved his head around.  
  
"How do you feel?" She asked slipping into doctor mode.  
  
"Like my Gundam stepped on me." That wasn't and understatement. His shoulder was still sending lances of pained fire up his arm. His ribs protested loudly with ever breath that he took and his leg was trying to rival his shoulder for attention. That was on top of the many aches and pains associated with minor and not so minor injuries.  
  
"That's about how you look too," she said wryly.  
  
"Joy. So what's wrong with my eyes?"  
  
"The blood vessels burst when you were choked. They'll be really sensitive to light for awhile."  
  
"Oh," He glanced around. "Where am I?"  
  
"The colony's main hospital. We brought you here after we found you at the base."  
  
"We?" He repeated questioningly.  
  
"Yes. Me, Quatre, Wufei, Trowa, and Heero."  
  
"Surprising they came back," he muttered.  
  
"Why's that?" She asked concerned.  
  
"Well, they left me there in the first place."  
  
"They told me that but why wouldn't you think they'd come back for you?"  
  
"Doesn't seem like it would matter to them."  
  
"Duo..."  
  
"So what happened with Marimea?" He side tracked.  
  
She sighed. "She was stopped. She was injured but she should survive. Dekin was killed however by one of his own men after Heero destroyed their base. He damn near killed himself doing it too, but he's fine."  
  
"So the peace lasts."  
  
"Yes."  
  
Duo yawned. He was still really worn out with all that had been going on. Sally, seeing this got up and moved to leave the room, but Duo stopped her.  
  
"Sally did you...was there anyone still at the base when you arrived?"  
  
"No, the place was deserted."  
  
"..."  
  
"You should get some rest Duo, They'll probably move you to a regular room in a little while then you can have some visitors."  
  
He lay there quietly not acknowledging her staring at the ceiling lost in his thoughts. So she left him alone shutting the door behind her and sighed.  
  
"Oh, Duo." ~~~  
  
Kevin smiled politely to the young woman at the desk. It hadn't taken log for him to find where they had taken the pilot. He had hidden when he heard the demons friends break into the abandoned base. He should have made sure he'd killed the little brat when he had the chance, but he'd though it would die soon any way and he wanted him to suffer longer before he did. It had pissed him off to no end to learn that the little shit would live. So now he had to come and finish the job.  
  
"Can I help you sir?" The nurse at the desk asked.  
  
"Yes," He said charmingly. "Can you tell me which room my son is in? His name is Duo Maxwell." ~~~  
  
The pilots walked down the hallway of the hospital silently. Sally had called and said Duo had woken up late that afternoon and was now allowed visitors. It was already dark so they wouldn't have much time to visit.  
  
"Excuse me miss," Quatre asked the nurse at the desk. Can you tell me which room Duo Maxwell is in?" We'll just have to apologize for not helping Duo.  
  
"Sure it's 227."  
  
"Thanks." They started to walk in that direction when she stopped them. "You can't go in right now. His father is in with him."  
  
"But Duo has no family." He said confused he looked over to the others for answers and saw Trowa and Heero look at each other and raced off towards Duo's room. He and Wufei followed close behind them. ~~~  
  
Duo came awake suddenly as he felt a hand press against his face suffocating him. His good arm moved to try and get the object off his face. A hand grabbed his arm and was forced back to the bed. Duo started struggling against his attacker using his injured arm and his good leg to try to knock the person away enough to let him draw a breath. His lungs were beginning to spasm from lack of oxygen, his body seemed to be going distant, he didn't have the energy to struggle anymore.  
  
He regretted how that he hadn't told Heero or Trowa before the new outbreak of fighting began. He just didn't want them to be repulsed by him to push him away. I'm sorry Heero, Trowa. I should have told you what you meant to me when I had the chance.  
  
Suddenly his face was uncovered and he could breath freely. As his senses returned to him he became aware that the room was dark and he could vaguely make out the forms of two figures fighting with a third larger figure. The two figures were wrestling the other figure to the ground pinning him beneath them.  
  
The door burst open streaming light into the room reveling the forms of Heero and Trowa on the floor pinning Kevin to the ground beneath them. Duo could only stare him in horror as he tried to get out of the boys hold on him and make it over to him. Wufei rushed to aid his companions, while Quatre came to his side.  
  
He vaguely heard him asking if he was ok, but he was transfixed on the sight in front of him. The pilots pulled their bound prisoner to his feet and they led him from the room, but not quick enough to keep him from shooting a last biting remark at Duo.  
  
"You'll get what you deserve eventually, Demon!"  
  
Wufei punched him in the face for good measure but the man continued to grin at him as he was led from the room.  
  
"-uo," Quatre said bringing him back in touch with his surroundings. "Duo, are you ok?" He was saved from having to answer that by the nurses that came into his room. Quatre was moved back while they busied themselves with resettling him on the hospital bed.  
  
His IV was reinserted and his arm bandaged where the IV had been ripped out during his struggles. they fussed and made sure his pillow was fluffed and asked if he was warm enough. They added to his morphine drip seeing as how he'd aggravated his injuries. He had his sunglasses back on so they turned on the lights and cleaned up the mess that had been made then they left. Leaving him alone with Quatre once again.  
  
Perhaps sensing his wish for silence Quatre didn't continue asking questions. He next to him doing nothing more than holding his hand and providing a strong sense of comfort in his presence.  
  
The whole situation was kind of like a dream to him. He didn't' really seem to be in control of himself. It was like he was outside himself watching what happened. He had no control over what he did or how he responded to things.  
  
He didn't even notice when Quatre left to be replaced by the presence of Heero and Trowa. They quietly walked in sitting on either side of his bed. He did however become aware of them when Heero brushed a stray piece of hair out of his face.  
  
"I...we're sorry we left you behind," he said clearly looking into his eyes.  
  
"If we had known what was going to happen we would of come back for you..." Trowa added solemnly.  
  
"If you give us a chance, we can try to make it up to you."  
  
Duo looked back and forth between them seeing the guilt and sadness in their eyes but something else there made him pause and look again. There was something there that he hadn't thought he would ever see in anyone's eyes when they looked at him. He had never though he could deserve what he saw in their eyes. Perhaps they do care. Maybe I can give them that other chance. Give myself another chance at them too. Thinking that Duo's silence meant rejection Heero and Trowa got up and headed for the door.  
  
"W-wait," Duo called out halting them. They turned to face him the beginnings of hope shining in their eyes now. "Could... would you braid my hair for me? I can't seem to do it myself right now."  
  
Looking at each other and then back at him they nodded and moved to either side of his bed watching the start of a beaming smile appear on his face. Heero picked up a brush on the bedside table while Trowa helped Duo fully sit up. ~~~ This could work. If he is willing this could work.  
  
Heero happened to glance up as Duo turned toward him smiling leaning into Trowas protective hold.  
  
We'll see.  
  
Owari 


End file.
